The Swiss Stock Market Declined Thursday On U.S. Fiscal Cliff Worries

12/13/2012 12:34 PM ET

The Swiss stock market ended Thursday's session in negative territory. The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the fiscal cliff in the United States weighed on investor sentiment today. Investors continued to digest the announcements from yesterday's U.S. FOMC meeting, which included further economic stimulus.

The Eurogroup approved the release of a second disbursement of bailout funds to Greece on the completion of the government's debt buyback operation. Finance ministers also finalized an agreement giving the European Central Bank more powers to oversee the functioning of banks.

The Swiss Market Index declined by 0.57 percent Thursday and finished at 6,919.54. The Swiss Leader Index fell by 0.69 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.55 percent.

Nestle decreased by 0.3 percent, despite being upgraded to ''Overweight'' from ''Equalweight'' at Barclays. Roche declined by 0.7 percent and Novartis fell by 0.4 percent.

Sonova was among the largest decliners on the day, with a loss of 2.5 percent. Swatch dropped by 2.0 percent and Richemont fell by 1.5 percent. Transocean finished down by 1.7 percent and Lonza lost 1.5 percent. Clariant decreased by 1.1 percent and Schindler closed lower by 1.1 percent.